Turner, M; Holdsworth, S; Scott-Young, C M and Sandri, K (2021) Resilience in a hostile workplace: The experience of women onsite in construction. Construction Management and Economics, 39(10), pp. 839-852. ISSN 01446193
Abstract
Women working onsite in construction contend with multiple work hazards arising from the masculine-based work culture. Resilience has been proposed as an important asset for trades and semi-skilled women to manage work hazards and retain work focus. An explanatory sequential research design incorporating survey and interview data was used to explore the resilience of women. One hundred and sixty-eight Australian trades and semi-skilled women completed the Employee Resilience Scale and forty-three of these participants were interviewed. Survey results indicate that participants had a high level of employee resilience, suggesting a strong ability to adapt and succeed in a challenging work environment. Thematic analysis of the interview data identified that resilience is considered as a mandatory capability by women working onsite to manage gendered workplace hazards and attain career success. The findings indicate that these women had high levels of resilience despite little to no support from their workplace. Given its importance, it is recommended that resilience development be included in apprenticeship programs to support retention and career success for tradeswomen. Developing the resilience of semi-skilled women requires more consideration from the industry given their precarious employment status and career pathway. More broadly, the results reiterate that more needs to be done to provide a safe working environment for women working onsite. Rather than relying on women to navigate hostile workplaces, construction employers must protect the safety and health of all workers irrespective of gender.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction; gender; resilience; retention; semi-skilled women; tradeswomen; well-being; work hazards |
| Index terms: | survey, onsite, work environment, retention, thematic analysis, program, career, women, apprenticeship, research design, employment, well-being, interview |
| Subjects: | professional development, methods and analysis, research design and methodology, mental health and wellbeing, software systems, professional education, management, sociology, building construction, data collection methods |
| Topics: | Research Practice, Digital Applications, Information Management, Human Resources, Organizational Design, Education, Health and Safety, Construction Technology |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here